Jim Pedersen's public Facebook page shows the UAW required photo ID for voting in an election.

Last year, Michigan Secretary of State Ruth Johnson promote legislation aimed at preventing voter fraud. One of the ideas was to require each voter to give a positive ID at some stage of the process before casting a ballot. Presenting a photo ID - such as a driver license - was one option. But, sensitive to the notion that a tiny minority of adults may not have photo ID, there was also the option of signing a legal affidavit affirming identity.

"It's not necessary, it's not trustworthy of the voter," said state Rep. Sean McCann, D-Kalamazoo, in a response typical of Democratic opposition to the proposal.

The United Auto Workers was also opposed to voter identification reforms at the national level - and photo ID requirements in particular - shouting that it was a conservative Republican plot to “disenfranchise millions of Americans.” The UAW website also notes a study claiming voter fraud is so rare that most Americans are more likely to be struck by lightning than attempt it.

One might think Democratic politicians and the UAW were really and truly opposed to making people show photo ID before voting. But it’s hard to rationalize within the context of the following:

“Congratulations to the victors in the UAW Local 892 elections. Run-off for Vice-President of Local 892 next Wednesday … Please have photo i.d. ready … Our union needs your commitment. I lost an election years ago, made me a better candidate and stronger advocate for working families.” [Emphasis added, truncated for space.]

The quote is from the Facebook page of Jim Pedersen last Thursday. He claims Michigan as his home and professional affiliations with the UAW and Ford/Visteon. Election coverage from the heavy-Left website DailyKos indicates that a retired automaker of the same name is the past president of the aforementioned UAW Local 892, and also ran for the Michigan House as a Democrat in 2012.

Taken at face value, this would make it appear that the UAW accepts a trainload of hypocrisy regarding photo-ID requirements and election security. When it comes to their own elections, they want to make sure there’s no ballot box stuffing going on.

Alternatively, perhaps UAW leadership doesn’t trust its own membership going to the polls as much as it does the general voter?

Not trusting members to behave at the ballot box by making choices friendly to Big Labor bosses is a common theme of Big Labor in general and the UAW in particular.

Big Labor’s support for “card check” legislation shreds the concept of a secret ballot regarding the decision over whether a worker even wants a union. And once a union shop is created, the question rarely gets asked again. The Detroit Three were unionized back around World War II, and there’s been no real desire nor effort since to give today’s workers a fighting chance to revisit the issue.

Yet, our vanquished rivals from that war now have American workers building Toyotas and BMWs in other states without union bosses or union dues.

In many ways, “democracy” for Big Labor bosses devolves down to “one man, one vote, one time.”

But hey: If the UAW really has a photo-ID requirement to prevent ballot fraud, maybe they’ll finally go the extra mile and start trusting members with the power to fire the union itself.

Ken Braun was a legislative aide for a Republican lawmaker in the Michigan House for six years and is currently the director of policy for a political consulting firm. His employer is not responsible for what he says here ... or in Spartan Stadium on game days.